Why is racism such an issue on this board?

So, you start another thread to complain about too many racism threads? Yeah, that makes perfect sense...

You must be the only person that feels this way, because those threads almost always reach two or three pages. As long as there are muliple races on this planet, racism will ALWAYS be an issue...

 

I've been reading about affirmative action in the Daily Texan recently. The Hopwood decision is pertrayed as a means of oppressing minorities because it determined affirmative action used at the UT Law School discrimated against "whites".

This irked me, so I vented here. I made sure I placed Racism in the title of the thread so it could easily be avoided and to kill the previous thread on racism.

 

Things go in cycles, here. A hot topic will get started, then resurrected repeatedly till we're all sick and tired of it. Maybe next month it'll be feminism again... or Palestine/Israel, or PACs. Lots of things to yell at each other about

 

Because there are people who think under 1000 post people are somehow below their intelligence.

 

He's not the only one; I'm pretty sick of the racism threads. They all go to 2 or 3 pages, but I've participated in enough of these now that I know it's only a handful of interested folk posting over and over again. I'm sure there are plenty of people who, like me, won't even open it if 'racism' is in the title (Joe Joe, thanks for being usre it's in the title).

I won't complain about the racism threads because it obviously still interests some posters, even if it is a dead horse to me. But I don't see why you need to get hostile toward someone who is wondering what the fascination is.

 

I just go... "hmmm, another racism thread... i'll skip it"

A lot of times, it's just one or two people arguing. They could do that through email, if you ask me...

rH

 

Yeah but your post cound doesnt go up you dork!

 

Isn't that true of any discussion on this bbs?

 

I think it's easier for people to talk about racism when the other folks don't know who they are. I also think it's easier for people to talk about it to people they probably won't be running into on a daily basis. Also, what's usually in question isn't "is racism wrong?", but rather "what constitutes racism?". What you may think is racism may not be thought of the same way by another person, yet you both say it is wrong. That's where the disagreements start.

In everyday life, you don't hear it because it's usually taboo to talk about it in areas such as the workplace. I'm Asian Indian and can tell you that it's rare that I've been discriminated against (that I know of anyway). I've been offered promotions, salary bumps, etc. by several companies. I never really felt racism in the workplace until after the 9/11 incidents. It got bad at my workplace with one individual just being blatantly racist calling for nuking of "camel jockeys", all Muslims, etc. He was cut off on the road by a driver and called him a "spick". He makes jokes about people acting black and drinking "strawberry soda", etc. I tried ignoring it for the most part because he's insignificant to be honest, but one day I had enough. He came into my cube spewing some of the same garbage and I stood up and told him straight to his face I would beat the living **** out of him if I heard him say that crap again. He later apologized and I really haven't heard a peep out of him since. Up until that point, newsgroups and bbs' were the only place I'd discuss race issues. It really never came up in the workplace outside of questions such as "what's it like in India?" (hell if I know. ).

Newsgroups and bbs' are usually good places for discussions because people often are better at expressing themselves when they have the time to compose their thoughts and do research. However, like so many racism-type threads, emotions get in the way (and I'm guilty of this, too) and we have a deterioration of communication. Pretty soon it's one deaf person screaming at another deaf person instead of 2 people trying to find a common ground. This is how flame wars start. Lately on this board, it's princess, tomorrow it'll be somebody else... etc.

 

me too.

 

Errrr.....

 

Yes and no.

It's hard because you don't know the people so you don't know how to phrase things in a way that doesn't come across wrong (which has been a big problem of mine, especially since I'm new).
I can talk to my friends about racism and they know me and know what I mean when I say something. They generally also have similar views. So I like talking to people on here because I don't know them and I don't know their views. It gives more perspective. And you even if you offend someone on here (unless you do happen to know them) you don't worry about running into them later.

Raicsm will always be an issue for many reasons (historical, politcal, moral...).

And I am sorry if I did offend anyone. I honestly didn't mean to and I hope you would know that. It's hard to carry on a conversation on such controversial topics without letting your emotions and irrationality get out of control. No hard feelings I hope.

 

"Why is racism such an issue on this board?"

From what I have seen, it's a pretty big issue everywhere. This board might just be a more inviting place to discuss it than with people you actually know.

 

Errrr... back atcha.

 

Dr of Dunk, I always pictured you as black. . .

 

From following Usenet for a few years (and I'm only talking about online since that's what the Deep Ellum dude asked), I'll go ahead and disagree. There are people that are brazen enough online to make statements, accusations, etc. that they in no way would make "in real life". They can hide behind the monitor for one reason.

About 2 weeks ago, a guy I worked with sat down and talked to me about racism. Unfortunately he was black. I say "unfortunately" because I already know where he's coming from. I lived it growing up, although not to the extent he did. I felt it after 9/11. I wish a white co-worker would just come up to me and say what's on their mind because I know that's where the friction lies. Come to me with an open mind and ask things like "why does this offend you?", "I don't get why you act that way; it was only a joke" - one on one. But like I said, I doubt that will ever happen in the workplace due to the nature of it. Most people seem too timid to even broach the subject in real life for fear of the repercussions. Behind a monitor, however, it's different. You're "SpazzKidd" or "RotoMan" or whatever your nick is. You take a few more liberties online. I say "you" in the general sense, and not referring directly to you.

I really don't know what to make of you, for example. At first I considered you an idiot. Then I considered you mis-informed. Then I said "who the hell cares". lol. I don't know you, I don't know the inflection in your voice, I can't judge your facial expressions; for all I know you're just a person that has difficulty relaying what they really mean.

If we all come to the table with no hatred, no fear, and an open mind, maybe something could happen. Anyway, there's my opinion, and I'm out before this turns into one of those hated "racism threads".

 

That's cool. I always wanted to be.

 

DoD

You're post really impressed me. But I would like to say that my opinion (about it being easier to talk on here or not) is just something that I feel. I know it might not be this way for anyone else, but I do see two sides to it.

And you're absolutely right about judging people on here. You can't know how they meant something, or the tone in their voice or what they might mean. And I know this because everyone on this board has read way too much into some comments I make and try to use them to explain all the mysteries in the world. In most cases, I'm just relaying information that I have heard and that has changed the way I look at things.

It's easy to get overly involved in a thread, especially when people are trashing everything you say, even if you try to apologize or correct yourself. And when emotions rise, it becomes much harder, for me at least, to sound coherant. And when someone close to you leaves, it sends you on an emotional rollercoaster, which never helps.

I think it's best to take everything with a grain of salt. It's fun for me to argue, in all honesty. But calling someone a Klansman or the N word is not my idea of civility. I have learned a lot from all of these threads about how to present yourself and handle difficult issues. I hope that I am able to keep things under control in the future. Thanks for your post!